Stuckinthegarage

Zed Head, the guy said its never been installed and the dizzy had been sitting for several years so hopefully I got the good one!

Great information - thanks. It's just the ignitor..

Hey guys - ok so I got my habds on a fully rebuilt d612-53 distributor with Pertronix Electronic Ignition already installed for a steal. I previous bought a 1.5ohm 40,000 volt coil and new ballast resistor. Is it better to run it this way or buy a 3.0 ohm coil and eliminate the ballast? Also, can I take advantage and run a larger spark gap? If so, what?

Ok, so she lives another day.. I was able to start it up and drive around the block. Found a small gas leak on the supply side and went to put a new hose clamp on it and realized that I have an electronic fuel pump in the rear, but its not even hooked up. I noticed when I was driving it last summer right around 3700 rpm it would start to sputter. I was looking around and apparently the electronic fuel pump works in conjunction with the mechanical after 4,000 rpm. Can anyone verify this? Also, tried my hand at timing and now its running rough so I'm going to start over tomorrow.

Ok. So checked several things and I won't bore you guys with too many details.. But I ended up putting the ignition to the on position and cranked the engine by hand to observe a spark. I got nothing so I ended up running a screw driver between the point contacts and I would get a faint spark. I swapped the old points set back in and I get a nice spark. I purchased the point from Zcar parts in the major tune up bundle, but seems as though the points themselves are slightly askew when sitting in my hand. Also, cracked the rotor when messing around with it.. So it looks like im back to square one. I'll be waiting on parts but will let you guys know if I have any more problems.

Yeah, I figured it was good enough since the starter engages. I probably should have started it up before I did the tune just to get a base line (know that it was actually going to start up before I did the work) i was just about to start putting in the old distributor parts to see if I could get it fire last night but it was too late. Im going to try a few things tonight and if that doesn't give me any answers I will swap the old parts back in. Thanks everyone.

Mark , the car was running last fall. Not any problems like this back then. I did notice today the ground wire coming off the negative battery terminal going to the firewall is badly rusted through. I will be relocating the ground to see if that helps. That may be the part of the issue too?

Thanks zed head. I will try that today

Thank you for your input. Last night I checked the following - Ensured Firing order on cap was correct -Checked all distributor wires were tight with continuity where between wires - battery voltage to coil and distributor with key on -1.6 ohms between primary coil -And 8.7k ohm on secondary Can you walk me through checking for spark at the points? Is this done with the distributor out of the block? Please advise, thanks

Thank you for your input. Last night I checked the following - Ensured Firing order on cap was correct -Checked all distributor wires were tight with continuity where between wires - battery voltage to coil and distributor with key on -1.6 ohms between primary coil -And 8.7k ohm on secondary Can you walk me through checking for spark at the points? Is this done with the distributor out of the block? Please advise, thanks

Hello all, New to the forum and z cars! I have a '73 240z original engine and just did a major tune up - oil change, spark plugs, PCV valve, distributor cap, rotor, points, and condenser. I went to start the car and I wasn't getting much. I checked the battery and surprisingly it held a charge of the Buffalo winter but the CCA's were low so I decided to replace the battery since it was 4 years old. Now the car turns over but I am not getting a spark at any of the spark plugs. I pulled the distributor to check the gap and rotating to the highest point I'm gapped at .020 or .508mm which is well within spec. I checked resistance of each spark plug wire and most read about the same but will be replacing them tomorrow when I get a chance. On to the wiring and more about the car. So the previous owner removed the smog pump. And a lot of the wiring inside the engine bay was spliced and/or painted over. When I was replacing the distributor after checking the gaps I noticed there is a wire that isn't connected to anything and there isn't anything connected to the throttle control valve. I cant remember anything being there, not sure if its necessary (sorry if that's a dumb statement) and not sure if its causing the NO spark. Since there is no easy way to identify that wire, I'm at a loss. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.